The State Worker

As we reported last night, the California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility on Thursday re-filed proposed ballot measures that would create a mandatory second-tier pension system for new public employees hired by the state, counties, cities and other non-federal government agencies in California.

The group put forward a similar measure in 2007, but it didn't have the financial support to gather enough signatures to qualify for a statewide vote. Foundation President Marcia Fritz figures it will take $2 million to gather the 1 million signatures needed to get the initiative before voters in the November 2010 election. She said no well-financed backer has stepped forward with a big check.

In a telephone interview this morning, Fritz outlined a strategy that includes an aggressive Web-based signature-gathering campaign and a push to get 2010 gubernatorial candidates such as Meg Whitman to take up the cause.

"We hope that the candidates will step up and help us raise money," Fritz said. "It would give us exposure and give them an issue to talk about."

Fritz, who runs an accounting firm in Citrus Heights, estimates the savings from the foundation's benefit rollback for new hires would save California $1 billion in pension costs one year after taking effect on June 30, 2011.

Some features of the plan:

* -- Changes the retirement formula for new peace officers and firefighters from the current 3 percent times years of service at age 50 to 2.3 percent at age 58.

* -- Cuts the formula for other newly-hired public safety employees, such as park rangers and game wardens, from the current 2.5 percent at age 55 to 1.8 percent at age 60.

* -- Ties the full retirement age for all other employees to the federal standard. Those workers paying into Social Security would get a defined pension based on no more than 1.25 percent of pay. Those who don't contribute to Social Security would get no more than 1.65 percent.

* -- Caps annual pension benefits at 75 percent of an employees annual base wage.

* -- Requires retirement benefits be based on a three-year average of base pay, excluding things like overtime, uniform pay, bonuses, longevity pay, accrued but unused vacation pay.

* -- Requires that any public employee retirement enhancements go to a public vote. The foundation has filed two versions with the Attorney General, one requiring a simple majority vote of the people to enact enhancements and the other a two-thirds vote. Fritz said her group is seeking feedback before deciding which one to push for a public vote.

Click here to read one version and click here to read the other.

...

Paul McCauley, the Southern California accountant who has authored several initiatives aimed at cutting public employee pension benefits, has responded to our inquiries after his latest measure failed to gain enough signatures to make the ballot. (Click here to read the specifics of the McCauley Pension Recovery Act and its failure to gain 433,971 signatures it needed by Oct. 15 to qualify for a statewide vote.)

We asked McCauley about why his measure didn't make the ballot and whether he plans to try again. In response, the self-described "pension fighter" sent an advanced copy of a piece he's written for LocalNews1.com, a Web-based news site based in Forest Ranch, Calif. McCauley is a regular contributor.

His latest item is an open letter to like-minded crusaders. It is, to be generous, a bit loose with the facts: "A current retiree can look forward to twice to three times in pension income than he or she ever made working." That is false.

Here are a few bits of the column:

November 6, 2009

My Dear Fellow Pension Fighters:

While the McCauley Pension Recovery Act failed to gather sufficient signatures to qualify for the ballot - this time - a further effort will be undertaken shortly. In a recent Field Poll, only 58% of California voters opposed the idea of imposing a surtax on pensions. That, of course, is what the McCauley Pension Recovery Act is all about - imposing a surtax on pensions ...

Click the link below to read more of McCauley's letter.

The California Foundation for Fiscal Responsibility today re-filed with Attorney General Jerry Brown proposed ballot measures to create a second tier pension system for new employees hired by the state and other public agencies in California.

See the two versions of the pension measures here and here.

Here are the Corrections and Rehabilitation Department's SROA numbers and the actual number of positions slated for elimination, according to spokeswoman Peggy Bengs:

SROA notices delivered:
Academic teachers: 753
Vocational instructors: 241
Total: 994

Actual layoffs:
Academic teachers: 416
Vocational instructors: 176
Total: 592

Bengs gave us those figures on Wednesday afternoon. She said that the layoffs are slated for the end of January.

The numbers and layoff date differ from what we received from SEIU Local 1000 a week ago and reported in this blog post. Sources familiar with CDCR's layoff plans tell us that the numbers are in constant flux and that the department has yet to settle on one course of action.

The State Worker column in today's fiber and cyber Bee notes that we've entered a 12-week stretch of four-day work weeks for state employees because of holidays and "Furlough Fridays." Our sense is that, for several reasons outlined in the column, the public may not notice.

But it's clear that this will intensify the pressure some state workers have felt in the Schwarzenegger furlough era to do the same or more work in less time.

You could argue that we've arrived at this point because the economic recession has exposed the many poor decisions made over many years by lawmakers and the public (via ballot initiatives) about state revenues and resources. Many (Most? All?) state workers would argue that Schwarzenegger's furloughs are bad policy that unjustly punishes state workers for matters over which they have no control.

A state worker friend put it this way: "Give them more and they'll always take more, especially when they don't deserve it."

So if that policy is trying to get 40 hours of worth of work from state employees but paying for 32 hours, what's the appropriate response? How much harder should state workers be expected to work? And as the new performance level becomes expected, does that mask the consequences of bad decisions that might be altered if the pain of furloughs was more acutely felt by elected officials and the public?

If you're a state worker and you're killing yourself to get your work done, are you enabling bad government? Or are you exercising a laudable work ethic?

The Department of Personnel Administration has filed a complaint against International Union of Operating Engineers, seeking to keep the union from seeking furlough arbitration.

DPA's 257-page amended brief -- which is so big that it exceeds our blog software's uploading capacity -- argues that the union has "improperly invoked a provision in the Memorandum of Understanding seeking to arbitrate their grievance over the Governor and DPA's adoption and implementation of the furlough program."

Click here to read the shorter, unamended brief DPA filed first on Tuesday. For the larger brief, click here and enter 00062715 in the case number field. Scroll down to "Amended Complaint," click "View," and then take a bathroom break or grab some lunch. The 11,365 kilobyte file takes a loooooooong time to load.

Bee colleague Marcos Breton recalls the life and recent passing of Francisco Salvador Perez, a disabled state worker waiting to go home at a downtown bus stop when a homeless woman allegedly shot him a little over a year ago. The county coroner said that Perez's untimely death may be linked to his gunshot wounds.

From Marcos's column in today's Bee:

In a case involving the politically charged issue of homelessness, it's easy to forget Francisco Perez. He was from a loving family, was born with cerebral palsy and walked with a cane and a noticeable limp. He was remembered Tuesday as a joyous soul. "He was always a joker, had a great sense of humor," said Ricardo Perez, Francisco's nephew.

Click here to read the entire piece.

Still no big layoffs in state government from what we can tell, despite the tough talk last summer.

"There are no new developments with layoffs," DPA spokeswoman Lynelle Jolley told The State Worker.

Meanwhile, SEIU Local 1000's Cindie Fonseca, gave us a list of Corrections layoffs planned for Bargaing Unit 1 administrative staff (26 layoffs), Bargaining Unit 3 teachers (642 layoffs) and Bargaining Unit 4 clerical and support (49 layoffs). Fonseca said that the BU 3 layoffs equal 45 percent of the Corrections employees in that job class.

Those layoffs would start around the first of the year, Fonseca said, and she's on the list.

We've called CDCR to confirm. We'll update this post or publish another when we hear back from them.

What's the takeaway from this? Have the usual moves -- eliminating vacant positions, transfers out of targeted jobs, and the like -- been exhausted? Are state workers facing real layoffs next year, especially if the economy doesn't improve and the state's tax revenues don't bounce back? Or is this yet another drill, despite what CDCR has told Local 1000?

California Association of Psychiatric Technicians has awarded $750 scholarships to 10 students pursuing an education in the psych tech field. The 5-year-old program is for CAPT members or students related to CAPT members. The grants for the scholarships come from the American Association of Psychiatric Technicians.

Here's a list of the winners and the schools they're attending:

Andrea Chavez, Porterville College
Filimon Decena,Porterville College
Antonio Esqueda, Hacienda La Puente
Carla Gatewood, Mt. San Antonio College
Jeanette Keel, Porterville College
Celina Keeney, Porterville College
Pamela Pack, Porterville College
Rigoberto Rangel, Cuesta CollegeRene Williams, Porterville College
Evelia Zaporteza, Napa Valley College

TechLeader.TV, the Web and public access cable show devoted to government technology issues, interviewed Titus Toyama. He's the project executive for the Financial Information System for California (FI$Cal) Project. Click here to download the Toyama interview. (Requires Windows Media Player.)

The interview went down the same morning that State Auditor Elaine Howle released a letter that raised financing and proceedural concerns about the $1.6 billion project. We blogged here about that letter to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature.

Thanks to blog user R for calling this to our attention.

IMAGE: Titus Toyama / www.fiscal.ca.gov